The Christmas Season is in full swing in Washington, D.C. and across the country - meaning we've decked the halls, wrapped some presents...and yes, cut down our Christmas tree! Even though ABabb is highly allergic to tree sap (yes just the sap) we still push on with our tradition of cutting down a wonderful smelling Christmas Tree every year. That just means that she does a lot of the moral support activities, and takes pictures of the whole process - while I do more of the hand to hand combat with saw and tree trunk activities!
Per the usual, ABabb and I made the trek out to Middleburg Christmas Tree Farm and sized up our options. For those of you in the DC Metro area, Middleburg is an AWESOME small town full of wineries and shopping, and Middleburg Christmas Tree Farm is a family run farm that is the best in the business. Go here and don't think twice, I promise you won't find nicer people and better farm to go tree hunting on. After quite the search (meaning we found about 10 "perfect trees" only to discount them or forget where they were), we finally found the perfect tree, took some obligatory pictures, squeezed in some shots of Hattie, and then cut the tree down!
The whole process is an adventure...while the hand saws they provide are sharp, it's a tree...it's hardwood...and the branches do their best to attack you at every turn. It never fails, ABabb inevitably varies between providing moral support and laughing at my inability to cut the tree down. Alas, once it's down, I toss it on the tree hauling cart and away we go. Next up is the bailing and tying it to the roof of the car. This year we finally have a car with a roof rack, meaning we can actually SECURE the tree to the top, hoorah!
After tying the tree down tight, ABabb and I hop in the car and venture back into the rolling hills of the Virginia countryside. On more than one occasion we've promised each other that we'll buy a plot of land in this area, with a babbling brook, give it a cool name like "Ashland Hills", and build a house to either raise a family or getaway too when we're older. This is the kind of land you buy and hold on to for a long time. You get some hound dogs or a few chocolate labs to run around with the kids, build a nice house with a porch, and sit back and enjoy the amazing beauty that swayed the first settlers to actually stay in the New World. It's such an amazing part of the country...and only 50-60 miles outside of DC!
After leaving the countryside, we headed back into DC. While the Nations Capitol is not New York City when it comes to Christmas decorations, there is something special about being in DC for the holidays. The Capitol Christmas Tree, the Christmas Concert put on by the Army Band, and what is usually a good coating of snow. No snow this year, as of yet, but we're still holding out hope!
After a long day, the tree finally went up at the Babb household...the lights went on, the ornaments were hung with care (by JBabb with guidance from ABabb) and we were finally in our full Christmas swing. While we're not spending Christmas itself in DC, we're heading home for Texas, we always make time to celebrate together - just the two of us (for now) - and make our home as Christmas(y) as possible! This time next year we'll have a 9 month old, who'll be learning all about Santa Claus for the first time! Crazy thought huh?!
Merry Christmas Everyone...
The whole process is an adventure...while the hand saws they provide are sharp, it's a tree...it's hardwood...and the branches do their best to attack you at every turn. It never fails, ABabb inevitably varies between providing moral support and laughing at my inability to cut the tree down. Alas, once it's down, I toss it on the tree hauling cart and away we go. Next up is the bailing and tying it to the roof of the car. This year we finally have a car with a roof rack, meaning we can actually SECURE the tree to the top, hoorah!
After a long day, the tree finally went up at the Babb household...the lights went on, the ornaments were hung with care (by JBabb with guidance from ABabb) and we were finally in our full Christmas swing. While we're not spending Christmas itself in DC, we're heading home for Texas, we always make time to celebrate together - just the two of us (for now) - and make our home as Christmas(y) as possible! This time next year we'll have a 9 month old, who'll be learning all about Santa Claus for the first time! Crazy thought huh?! 